Panetta makes suicide prevention a top priority

by Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, as part of September as suicide prevention month, talked with USA TODAY about his concerns regarding the record number of these deaths in the military this year:

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Q: You have used the word "epidemic" to describe suicides in the military, something other military leaders have refrained from doing. Why did you go there?

A: I want to make sure that we, particularly in the Department of Defense and the military establishment, are aware of how tragic this problem is and how urgent it is for us to try and address it. This is a frustrating challenge. And there aren't any easy answers or quick fixes. But we are a family in the military. We have to take care of our family members, we're talking about men and women who are willing to put their lives on the line to protect this country, and I think we have to do everything possible, to try to make sure we protect them.

Q: According to the Pentagon, U.S. troops are dying by suicide at a rate of more than on a day, what can you tell Americans about why this is happening?

A: It is a complex problem with no quick fixes. Part of it I think is due to a nation that's been at war for over a decade. You have repeated deployments and sustained combat exposure to enormous stresses and strains on our troops and on their families that produced a lot of seen and un-seen wounds that contribute to the suicide risk. At the same time, we're dealing with what is a broader societal problem. I think CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) said something like 37,000 are committing suicide nationally. And that means we have to deal with some of the broader societal issues: substance abuse, financial distress, relationship problems, the kind of risk factors that endure even beyond our involvement in war. So it is, I think, very much a problem that not just the military, but society in genera,l has to confront and deal with.

Q: How big of a priority is this for you?

A: I have made it, as a secretary, have made it a priority for our military leadership to address. We had all of our combatant commanders in last week. This was one of the issues, along with sexual assault, that I said we needed to address and to talk about. What's causing it. What are the problems? How can we deal with it? And I want to make sure that they understand that this is a priority for us to deal with. And in many ways it's a leadership responsibility. Leaders have to be sensitive and got to be aware. They've got to be open to the signs of stress and they've got to be aggressive in encouraging those that need help to seek that help and be able to receive it. You know, I think it's important to point out that seeking help is a sign of strength and courage, not weakness. And so I think it's important that everyone recognize that this is a fundamental issue that affects our men and women in uniform and their families, and what I've tried to do, very frankly, is to make sure that not only the secretary but all of the military leadership kick ass on this issue.

Q: Should leaders be held accountable for how they deal with this issue?

A: This is an issue of leadership. Look, we've got to do more about improving mental and behavioral care, making sure that we provide expanded access. We have increased, I think we've got more than about 9,000 psychiatrists and psychologists and mental (health) workers, about a 35 percent increase. That's important. We've got to elevate mental fitness so that we train people to cope with stress. We've got to do what we can to increase suicide prevention research. So there's a number of steps that we have to take across the board. But, I think at the top of that list is leadership, leaders who are sensitive to this issue, that they're aware of it, they're looking for signs of stress, they understand that they have a responsibility to watch after their buddy. That's what the military is all about. Our strength is a chain of command, that makes sure that those who have to serve this country are disciplined, exercise good order and have people that are watching out for each other. And that's the heart and soul of what makes our military strong. So yes, leaders ought to be judged by how they lead on this kind of issue.

Q: Given the rise in suicides and mental illness in the military, have 10 years of war offered any lessons about the cost of sending troops on long and multiple combat deployments?

A: I think it's important, as we draw down on these wars, that we look back over these last 10 years and really draw lessons that can help us improve in a number of areas, not only how we fight these wars, how we deploy our troops, what kind of weapons systems work best, but also how do we handle the human side of this kind of prolonged warfare. And how do we get a handle on the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, and try to get ahead of that and try to avoid it in the future, as we have to engage in protecting this country. So I think there's a lot of lessons we have to learn from what's happened over these past 10 years.

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